A good friend is thinking about a full sus under £1000.

Can it be done?

Any suggestions from the (helpful) STW massif?

All +ve recommendations welcome.

Andy

2009 focus super bub pro £849 from wiggle slx/xt/rockshox dont think you will find a better spec'ed anywhere near that price at the mo

thats super BUD pro not bub 🙂

What type of full sus does he want?
if he wants some thing that is fun on the downs then the GT XCR IDrive is a very good bike but you will have to get it from halfords.

Boardman full sussers get a good write ups, proven suspension design, decent level of kit for the money.

I'd probably get one of them Boardman FSers.

The Giant Trance X5 is worth a look too, Paul's Cycles have some going for £850 sale price at the moment.

Probably not the answer you want, but at that price point I'd go for a hardtail every time.

^Me too. But if I was to go full suss, I'd go for the Boardman, then upgrade the fork and shock as funds allowed.

Thanks all.
At the moment he's using a scott scale 50 which is nice and light but not an ideal lakes bike.

Gatesgarth might have been the final straw for both man and bike.

buckled rear wheel, a hub that sounds like a tin can full of bolts and lots of bruises.

will look at boardman/giant/focus and GT.

The alternative is that i get off my 5 and onto a hardtail again to "share the pain" or choose easier routes.

JE James have a Kona Dawg for a grand and also a Giant Trance X 4 to pick just a couple. If he can stretch another £200 then there's a Trek Fuel EX7, or an EX 6.5 at his price point, but the 6.5 doesn't have the excellent Active Braking Pivot.

I believe that there are a few 2009 Anthem X3s around for that sort of money. Availability of particular sizes might be an issue though

Second hand?

The garages and sheds of all these people who only buy new bikes must get full at some point. If you don't want to take the risk of ebay then start hunting round all your local shops for any trade ins.

If he's after something quite hard hitting, this looks excellent

http://www.paulscycles.co.uk/products.php?plid=m1b62s1p2444&z=2856

Thanks all, have sent him links to all above suggestions and some others.

Anyone know if STW or other mags have done a sub £1000 review/test.

I'd agree with the S/H bit. I've seen an 04 Orange 5 frame go for £250 on here. I almost bought it myself, just as a spare in case mine breaks!

FAIL – Member

Second hand?

The garages and sheds of all these people who only buy new bikes must get full at some point. If you don't want to take the risk of ebay then start hunting round all your local shops for any trade ins.

Does anyone have a local shop that does trade ins?

Anyone know if STW or other mags have done a sub £1000 review/test.

I don't think STW has but MBUK, MBR and WMB all have in the last year

The Boardmans rated highly as did the Spesh FSR XC, Giant Trance X5 and the GT iDrive from Halfords.

Does anyone have a local shop that does trade ins?

Mike Vaughan in Kenilworth*

*other shops are available.

Meta 5 sub £1000 at Merlin.

http://www.merlincycles.co.uk/custom-mountain-bikes/commencal-mountain-bikes/2009-commencal-meta-5-5-3.html

go for an orange p7, may be a HT but a strong piece of kit… will take most hits with a good fork set up

I can strongly recommend the Mongoose Canaan Comp at £700 delivered from Pauls Cycles. Slightly weighty (31lbs ish I think) but awesome pedaller on the ups and flats and pretty good going downhill too. I swapped the forks as the Toras it came with aren't that great, but flog em and he/she's got give or take £400 to spend on a new set if £1000's the budget. I've also swapped the wheels on mine, but only cos I had some spare XTs in the garage, nothing to do with any fault with the Deore/WTBs it came with (which are about to go on a Summer Season). Stem and pedals swapped for personal preference. Think that's it, though the Small Block 8s are begining to struggle on the greasy stuff, but they're great for summer riding.

Anyone know if STW or other mags have done a sub £1000 review/test.

I don't think STW has but MBUK, MBR and WMB all have in the last year

The Boardmans rated highly as did the Spesh FSR XC, Giant Trance X5 and the GT iDrive from Halfords.

correct, i was going to post that but you beat me to it.

always worth a look on here as they have a good selection of bikes from 2005-2009 going cheap. up to 40% off!

for a grand i got my '06 Norco Six-1 from these guys (they still have em but only in small). the iron horse 6point4 looks pretty tasty too.

http://www.winstanleysbikes.co.uk/category/643/Clearance_Full_Suspension_Bikes